— CAPTAIN SISKO. PARADISE LOST. Stardate Not Given

Elsewhere in the record, Sisko points out the benefits of having a plan, a “blueprint,” for our activities. Whether for a single project or our whole trek through life, a plan provides inspiration and guidance. It helps bring us back to our original vision if we get off track.

But some of us over-plan things. We try to anticipate everything. We leave no room for mid-course corrections, or for taking advantage of unexpected opportunities.

Worse, some of us have a tendency to keep planning as a way to put off doing. Which is not unlike the student who continues his “higher education” year after year in order to avoid actually getting a job.

And yet, once the basics are learned, getting a job is the best form of higher education. Likewise, once our plans are roughly outlined, actually carrying them out is the best way to refine and perfect them.

In reality, “doing” is simply an extension of “thinking.” Planning is the intellectual part. Applying that plan adds the physical dimension. Both have their own inherent logic. Each is incomplete without the other.

As the saying goes, we change our lives by changing our thinking. But only when thought becomes deed.

My plans are imperfect. My information is incomplete. But I have faith that The Universe will guide me and supply what I lack—if I start now.

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The above meditation is taken from Going Boldly on Your Inner Voyage © 1999-2004, IF Books.

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